<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Soul Brothers by Ruby_Dragonryder, TheInkedFantasy (Ruby_Dragonryder)</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27102739">Soul Brothers</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruby_Dragonryder/pseuds/Ruby_Dragonryder'>Ruby_Dragonryder</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruby_Dragonryder/pseuds/TheInkedFantasy'>TheInkedFantasy (Ruby_Dragonryder)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>My Bendy AU's [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bendy and the Ink Machine</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Fluff, Bendy!Joey, Brothership, Floangst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I hope you guys like it., I love my baby bois., I needed to write this down., I suck at tagging., It's not quite a Joey/Henry relationship, Just floofy brotherhood, Just read it and tell me what you think because I don't know what to say in the tags., No Romance, Other, Paper!Henry, Soul Brothers AU, The Ink Demon is fed up with all your crap, This is basically self-indulgence, because why not, but it's close., enjoy., so get a hold of yourselves boys and fricking work together., toon!Henry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-09 04:42:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,427</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27102739</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruby_Dragonryder/pseuds/Ruby_Dragonryder, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruby_Dragonryder/pseuds/TheInkedFantasy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Henry and Joey are both unhappy, with Henry trapped and fighting to escape and Joey wanting him to just give up and stay with him, and Bendy is absolutely fed up with how his creators are acting. It's time for drastic measures...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Joey Drew &amp; Henry Stein</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>My Bendy AU's [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1978192</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Fed Up With Your Actions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Yes, yes, I know, I've been gone a while, but I've been busy with my... eighteen AU's, is it now? Probably. </p><p>Hold on... *begins counting on my fingers* Henrik, Forge, Evacados, Everest, Inferno, Aquarius, Winter, Survivor, Magicks, Potions, Jhoedry, Chemist, Al, Cy, Harper, Anthony, Circus, this one, the one where Linda's the villain, that clone one, that kid Joey and Henry one... That's... twenty? Oh! Phantom too! And the one where the roles are swapped and then Constellation... That's... twenty-three, oh my gosh... And twenty-one are from the last three weeks... My friends are right, I really do need to stop... </p><p>Anyway, this is not about most of those. This is about the Soul Brothers AU. I will be writing for all of this AU's eventually, most likely. I do have floofy stories for all of them. But this story is about Henry and Joey, brothers forced apart by circumstance and brought back together by chance. </p><p>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>This isn't your ordinary story. This is a story of loss and redemption, sure, but not in the way you would think. At least, it was surprising to me. I don't know. I just have never seen a story like this turn around this fast. But then again, I was just the twisted result of it. Hopefully, this will fix it, fix me...</p><p>I'm tired of being the villain. Hopefully, this can allow me to help the heroes, just this once. </p><p>*sigh* I suppose I should start it. After all, we have to get on with the show, and the boys are waiting. My... fathers... are waiting...</p><p>Once upon a time, a demon met an angel. It wasn't clear to either what the other was, but they still loved each other. They called each other brother, becoming the family the other had never had. They started up an animation studio after college, and they worked together happily, though there were some bumps. </p><p>You see, the angel was a workaholic, and would often work himself down to the bone. If it weren't for the demon constantly forcing him to rest, he would have fallen from exhaustion. This didn't stop the angel from coming home too tired to eat every night, which worried his sister. </p><p>What the sister didn't know was that at work, the demon and the angel were a dynamic duo. The angel focused the demon, helping him stay on task and not spin off into some crazy unachievable dream, while the demon made sure the angel cared for his own welfare as well. They were a... a, dare I say it, <em>perfect</em> match. They needed each other. </p><p>Too bad the sister didn't know, and she decided in her cluelessness to tear them apart. She didn't want to lose her brother. </p><p>She ended up losing him permanently. </p><p>She needled her way into his mind, convincing the angel to quit. A rift was torn between the angel and the demon, and grief filled the void where their brotherhood had once kept them afloat. </p><p>The angel became depressed, rarely smiling, keeping to himself, while the demon went mad with anguish, doing everything in his power to bring the angel back. </p><p>Eventually, the demon succeeded after running their studio into the ground in bringing the angel back, trapping him in bindings made of black ink. The angel was forced to go through a story, forced to stay trapped so the demon could never lose him again. </p><p>Neither were happy. </p><p>Both lay trapped in a horrible cycle, both wanting something the other could no longer give. </p><p>That, my dear reader, is where I come in. </p><p>I've decided that I'm fed up with this. We're going to do this my way now. </p><p>And I won't stop until I've brought the angel and the demon back together again. </p><p>For Soul Brothers cannot live without the other, and I am the only one who can right this wrong. </p><p>I have to.</p><p>For all our sakes. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Time For Drastic Measures</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Seems like Bendy is fed up with this. Time to change the story.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Henry sighed as he stepped into the gigantic machine. This was really grinding on his nerves. This was 659 loops... Why did Joey enjoy tormenting him? </p><p>"And to think I once called you brother..." he grumbled, but he couldn't lie that he didn't nurse the memories of those times, of the times they'd laugh or Joey would force him to sleep or that time that he bought him a couch for his office so that Henry could have a place to sleep if he wanted to stay late... </p><p>He shook his head. Now was not the time to get lost in memory. The demon was waiting. </p><p>He walked in, staring at the message in the tube as he passed by. </p><p><strong>I still remember my name...</strong> </p><p>He shivered. How long would it be until he couldn't even remember that? </p><p>He stepped into the throne room only to find Bendy already waiting for him, holding the reel in his hands. Surprise shuddered through him. This was new. What was going on? </p><p>"Um... Bendy? You okay, bud?" he asked tentatively. </p><p>Bendy growled. He seemed to be trying to speak to Henry, but Henry couldn't understand. </p><p>"S-sorry, I don't speak demon," Henry said sheepishly. "I speak English." <em>And a little Spanish from Jorge</em>... He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to think about Jorge Alanzo Drew. </p><p>Bendy growled louder, grabbing Henry and picking him up off the ground. </p><p>"H-hey! Put me down!" Henry cried. </p><p>He snarled in his face, quieting Henry as he placed the End Reel in its slot and started the end animation. </p><p>"W-what are you d-doing?" Henry whimpered. </p><p>Bendy said nothing, letting them fade away with the burning golden light. </p><p>Henry opened his eyes to find that they were in Joey's house, but <em>Bendy was with him</em>. </p><p>Bendy had changed, less like a strange gorilla and more like a large raptor made of ink. He still was definitely Bendy--the face said as much--but he looked stronger, more agile. Being here gave him power, and that scared Henry. </p><p>Henry tried to cry out and warn Joey, but Bendy held a claw to the animator's lips, and Henry didn't dare utter a sound. </p><p>Bendy stalked into the kitchen, and there he was, the man himself, Jorge Drew in the flesh, facing away from them. Henry knew that crazy black hair and light brown skin anywhere, and his topaz eyes, though not focused on him at the moment, were always so full of wonder and mirth, though lately, he'd seen nothing but sorrow there. This wasn't the man he had befriended and once called brother. This was just an empty shell. </p><p>What he wouldn't give to see the real Joey in there somewhere. </p><p>"Henry? So soon? You're early. I wasn't expecting you for another hour yet." Joey sighed. "Ay, carumba... ¿Por qué seguimos haciendo esto? Neither of us want to be here... I just want you to stay with me and be happy, to stop fighting and stay away from that cursed sister of yours who stole you from me... I just want my brother back... Is that so wrong?" </p><p>Henry's heart ached at those words. <em>I never wanted to leave you... Linda said it was for the best...</em> </p><p>Joey sighed again as he turned around. "I guess we might as well get this started again--¡Oh mis estrellas celestiales!" Joey leaned against the sink, eyes wide in terror. "How did you get out of the machine?!" </p><p>Henry snickered. He had forgotten how funny Joey was when startled. <em>Oh my heavenly stars</em> was a common exclamation of surprise from him. </p><p>Bendy snarled, picking Joey up as well. </p><p>"W-what's going on?! P-p-put me down! ¡N-n-no me hagas llamar a m-mi abogado!" Joey stammered. "You can't do this! I created you! Put me down! P-p-por favor!" </p><p>"Hi, Joey," Henry said, interrupting his nervous rambling. </p><p>"Henry, what in the world is going on?!" Joey asked. "What does he want with us?" </p><p>"Beats me. He just grabbed me in the throne room and dragged me here to get you." </p><p>Bendy growled softly, opening the door and stomping into the studio. </p><p>"No no no no! No bueno, no bueno!" Joey whimpered, trying to get away. "No, por favor, aquí no! Aquí no!"</p><p>"Oh shut it, you trapped me in here, it's about time that you felt what it's like!" Henry snapped. </p><p>"I didn't mean to make this! I swear! I just wanted to keep you from leaving me again!" </p><p>"So you decided to trap me in a time loop instead of chatting?!" Henry exclaimed angrily. "What about the others?! Their lives! You made them puppets!" </p><p>"You don't understand, I had no choice! He made me--" </p><p>Bendy growled at them, glaring at them and shutting them up. </p><p>The duo remained silent as Bendy walked through the halls of the studio, but they both started panicking as he brought them to the ink machine. </p><p>"Let us go!" Henry yelled, grabbing at the hand holding him.</p><p>"What are you going to do to us?!" Joey asked in terror, trembling. </p><p>Bendy said nothing, putting Joey down and snarling a warning that all three understood. If Joey tried to run, Bendy would not be merciful. </p><p>Joey curled up in the corner, watching as Bendy got Henry situated to be put through the machine. </p><p>Henry struggled. "Are you insane?! I don't want to be one of those Lost Ones or Searchers or even like Allison and Boris! Being trapped here is bad enough, <em>please</em> don't force me to become like one of them!" he pleaded. </p><p>Bendy grunted, and turned on the machine allowing the ink to consume the man in front of him. </p><p>Joey surged forward, trying to reach Henry as the animator's screams filled the room, to stop the seemingly inevitable, but Bendy stopped him with his tail. Tears streamed down his face as the screams faded away until Henry fell silent. </p><p>"You... You killed him..." Joey said, beginning to sob. "You killed my brother..." </p><p>Bendy moved forward, concerned whines filling the room as he placed a paper on the ink. </p><p>Joey watched in amazement and hope as the ink was absorbed into the paper. Perhaps Henry could still be saved! </p><p>Bendy picked up the paper and showed Joey what was on it. There, on a thin black line, lay Henry, although he was a toon and breathing shakily. </p><p>Joey took the paper from the demon, glaring at him as he cradled the paper and the precious life contained on it. "H-Henry?" he asked tentatively. </p><p>"Y-yeah... What... What did he do to me...?" Henry asked tiredly, his piecut eyes only half-open. </p><p>"He put you through the machine, and you came out as a blob of ink. He put un papel on your ink and I think that trapped you on this paper," Joey said softly, trying to help Henry by running his finger over his back as he had no idea what else to do. </p><p>Henry grabbed his finger through the paper, surprising Joey when he realized that he could feel Henry's grip as his finger was hugged. "I... I don't even know how to react to this..." Henry admitted, looking up at him with a quiet exhaustion that was quickly catching up with him. </p><p>"You're too tired to think," Joey pointed out. "Get some rest. We'll figure out what to do about this later, okay?" </p><p>"Okay..." Henry mumbled, leaning against Joey's finger as a pillow as he closed his eyes, cartoony z's appearing over his head. </p><p>Joey sighed in relief. Henry was all right. Everything was going to be okay. </p><p>A shadow fell over him as Bendy approached him. Joey trembled. He knew that Bendy had something planned for him and it wouldn't be pretty.</p><p>Joey screamed as he was forced through the machine, the ink filling his lungs and drowning him. He was being consumed by the darkness, the substance changing him from the inside out. The last thought he had before he lost consciousness was, <em>I'm sorry, Henry</em>. </p><p>Then everything went black, his last sensory being Bendy's laughter as he closed his human eyelids for the last time. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Now We're Doing Something New</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>With memories hidden away, the duo wakes up. This will be interesting.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I have rearranged the studio a bit. Joey's office is on the first floor, just next to the break room. Oh, and Henry has an actual office instead of a cubby hole. That's my only change for the moment. Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Henry slowly began to stir, rolling over in his sleep. What... What had... </p><p>Then it hit him. Bendy! Joey! The Machine!</p><p>...</p><p>Wait, why was that bad? And what machine was he thinking of? A projector? </p><p>Hold on... What had happened before he fell asleep? </p><p>That's right, Linda convinced him to quit even though Joey didn't overwork him. Oh, how his heart ached. Joey was his best friend... They were thick as thieves, practically brothers... He didn't want to leave, but Linda said it was for the best... </p><p>He kept his eyes closed, curling up in a ball. He didn't want to wake up yet. He didn't want to wake up and realize that he wasn't going in to work with his best friend. He didn't want to wake up and have to face the reality that he was never going to see his best friend again. </p><p>The only thing that kept him from trying to go back to sleep was that he was laying on something hard... Had he fallen off the bed? </p><p>Sighing internally and knowing he had to get up eventually, he opened his eyes. After a second of scanning his, they snapped wide open as he surged up. </p><p>He was looking up at a very familiar setting. Who wouldn't recognize the desk you worked at, after all? But there was something wrong with the view. </p><p><em>He was <strong>on</strong> the desk.</em> </p><p>He looked down at himself and had to bite back a scream. What had happened to him?! </p><p>His hands had lost the pinkie finger, and they were in white gloves with black buttons. His elbows and knees... They were the traditional rubberhose animation style he himself drew for Bendy. He poked and prodded at his body, feeling the unfamiliar shape of his now piecut eyes. His breathing became heavy as the realization came to him that he was a cartoon on a piece of paper. </p><p>"This... This has to be a dream..." he mumbled, trying to calm himself. "I'm probably just grieving... Yeah... That's it... I'm grieving... I'm grieving the loss of my best friend... I'll wake up normal and in my bed. Yeah. That's right." </p><p>But something about the heavy weight in his chest and how everything felt so horribly real told him that this was not, in fact, a dream like he had hoped. This was a living nightmare. </p><p>He looked around, hoping to see someone beyond the ink dripping from the walls and the rotting floorboards, but there was no one. He was alone. Utterly alone. </p><p>He curled up again and let out a soft sob. What had he done to deserve this? </p><hr/><p>Meanwhile, elsewhere someone else yawned and woke up, stretching. He rubbed his eyes. <em>Why did everything hurt...?</em> he wondered. </p><p>
  <em>What... What is my name?</em>
</p><p>Then it hit him. <em>Jorge Alanzo Drew. Jorge Jorge Jorge. Joey.</em> </p><p>He laughed at himself. Of course, he wouldn't forget his name! </p><p>But then why, for a second, did it seem that he had? </p><p>He shook his head. He had something important to do. He wasn't sure what, but he knew it was more important than pretending that he had forgotten his name. He had work! </p><p>Now, what had happened yesterday-</p><p>Oh. </p><p>Right. </p><p>Henry had left. </p><p>He was alone. </p><p>He sighed. He must have fallen asleep in his office after he had sobbed for three hours... Time to get to work, he guessed.</p><p>Joey stood up... and immediately fell back down. Hm. That was odd. Let's try that again. Up... and down. Confused, he looked down at himself... and screamed. </p><p>He was a toon. He would recognize the black body and white four-fingered gloves and shining dancing shoes of Bendy the dancing demon anywhere. Though he had to admit, the fact that he had a tail was odd... </p><p><em>Focus, Joey</em><em>!</em> he scolded himself. He slowly got up, regaining his balance as he stumbled toward the door. There had to be someone here who could explain what was going on. </p><p>He walked out the door after more struggle than it should have taken-honestly, why were toon physics so fricking hard?-and his heart sank. This wasn't what he had expected. </p><p>Down the hallway, he could see a Boris with his chest ripped open, and just the sight of it made him want to vomit. Instead of curling up on the floor and sobbing like he wanted to, he forced himself to keep moving. He had to find someone, <em>anyone</em>! He didn't want to be alone in here, in this twisted living nightmare. </p><p>He rushed down the hall, heading for the door. Surely, he could get out and find someone to help him. </p><p>Turning into the entry hall, he ran up to the exit and jiggled the doorknob. A sob came out of his little toon body when he realized it was locked. He was trapped here. </p><p>He slumped to the floor, letting out a desperate sob that shook his whole body. Why couldn't this just be a nightmare? Why couldn't he wake up to find Henry laughing at him and teasingly calling him hypocritical because he had fallen asleep on his desk instead of going home for the night? Why couldn't this all just be a bad dream? Why couldn't he be sleeping? </p><p>Oh, what he would give to have the innocent belief of a child right then that everything was going to get better, that the Boris wasn't dead in the room a few halls down, that he was just sleeping. </p><p><em>They're not gone, Daddy. They're just sleeping.</em> <em>Just sleeping.</em> </p><p>He wasn’t sure how long he laid there, curled up in a ball with his back pressed up against the door, his tail swishing back and forth with sorrow, but it was long enough for him to run out of tears and just quietly shake. </p><p>He paused when he thought he heard crying somewhere else, wiping away his tears―black as the ink staining the floorboards, figures he’d be unable to cry normal ones after all this―and getting up to search for the one making the forlorn noises. It didn't take long for him to recognize the cries, for he had had to comfort the voice's owner many many times. </p><p>"Henry!" he cried out, rushing toward his friend's office. Maybe, just maybe, his best friend was here too, and then that would make everything better. </p><p>Joey opened the door, but couldn't see anyone in it. Discouraged and thinking he was hearing things in his despair, he was about to turn away when he heard something that made his heart soar. </p><p>"J-Joey?" whimpered Henry's voice. </p><p>"Henry?! Where are you?" Joey asked, searching for his friend with the desperation of a dying man reaching for angels. Henry would know what to do. Henry always made everything better. </p><p>"I'm... I'm up here, Joey..." Henry said. Gosh, he sounded so hurt and sorrowful... Joey intended to fix that. </p><p>"Wait, where? I can't see you," Joey said as he checked every nook and cranny that would fit the short man. </p><p>"I'm... on the d-desk..." he whimpered before bursting into sobs again. </p><p>Confused, Joey climbed up onto the chair, and what he saw made him gasp. </p><p>There, curled up and sobbing on a piece of paper, was Henry Oliver Stein. He might have been monochrome with toony pie cut eyes and four-fingered white glove, but it was unmistakably him from his constantly messy hair to his untucked shirt to the slacks with the ink stain that only the two of them knew about. This was his best friend. This was his brother. </p><p>"H-Henry, what happened to you?!" he exclaimed as he brushed his fingers over the paper. </p><p>"I d-don't know!" he confessed through his tears, his eyes widening when he saw Joey's appearance. "W-what happened to y-you?! You... You look like B-Bendy!" </p><p>"I have no idea," he answered, "but it doesn't matter now. Are you hurt?" </p><p>He shook his head, wiping away his tears. "I... I'm all right. I'm okay, now that you're here, b-brother." </p><p>Joey was shocked. "You... you still consider me your brother?" he asked hopefully. </p><p>"I do... I... I didn't want want to leave, Linda convinced me it was for the best! I never wanted to go... I'm sorry..." </p><p>"It's okay. What matters is that we're together now. We... We need to find a way to get back to normal," Joey said. </p><p>"Yeah. Yeah, we do," Henry agreed. "We also need to find out how we ended up like this." </p><p>He nodded. "Then we have a plan. Let's do this!" </p><p>Joey started out of the room when Henry's voice interrupted him. "Um... a little help please?"</p><p>"What?" He turned to see Henry still stuck on the desk. "Oh! You can't move?"</p><p>"Um... No? I'm a piece of paper, Joey," Henry said reasonably.</p><p>"Oh! Well then, I'll just have to carry you!" he said, gently picking up the paper and cradling it in his hands. </p><p>"That's a wonderful idea, Joey," Henry said tiredly, feeling Joey's fingers through the paper and hugging them. He desperately needed Joey's comfort right then, and the feeling of warmth--the warmth of <em>life--</em>that came from Joey's hands was the only thing grounding him, letting him know that he wasn't alone anymore, that Joey was really there. It was a wonderful feeling in the midst of dark times, and he wasn't about to let it go.  </p><p>"Now..." Joey began as he left Henry's office and moved back into the lobby.</p><p>"Where do we start?"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>HHHHHHHHH THE FEELS-- <br/>This is basically self-indulgence. I mean, I now have 47 other AU's in progress, 46 having been made in the last month and a half--I know I have a problem, my friends tell me constantly--so the fact that I'm writing this is... kinda remarkable to me. XD I must want the floof badly. <br/>Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this, and I hope to have more out soon! <br/>Toodles!</p><p>- Fantasy</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>What do you think? I hope you liked this first chapter. It was fun to write! I'll probably be posting again soon, so stay tuned! </p><p>Toodles!</p><p>
  <em>- Fantasy</em>
</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>